New Movies Review

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:57:00 +0000

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Jack Black (Actor) | Rated: PG | Format: DVD

Kung Fu Panda 2 is a sequel that definitely lives up to its predecessor, thanks to excellent animation and a great mix of action, comedy, and important life lessons. Dragon Warrior Po (Jack Black) has matured and mastered many new challenges since learning the art of kung fu and defeating the snow leopard Tai Lung, but he hasn't lost his penchant for steamed buns, nor has he achieved what his teacher Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) describes as true inner peace. Before he can settle into the arduous task of self-discovery, word arrives that a nearby town of musicians has been attacked and their leader Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber) killed by a newly invented weapon that breathes fire and spits out metal--a weapon that is a harbinger of the end of kung fu and the domination of all of China by Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). Po and the Furious Five (Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Lucy Liu) set out to destroy the mysterious weapon and save kung fu, encountering the imprisoned and very dispirited kung fu legends Master Oxen (Dennis Haysbert) and Master Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme) along the way, but the group quickly discovers that their task is far from simple. Even as Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) adamantly foretells Lord Shen's defeat at the hands of a warrior of black and white, Po struggles with the realization that he must come to terms with his adoption in order to let go of the past and become who he chooses to be. Only then can he achieve the inner peace that will empower him to triumph over his personal insecurities and Lord Shen. Kung Fu Panda 2 offers excellent animation and 3-D effects, nice brisk pacing, great voice talent, life lessons that ring true, and a healthy dose of comedy that includes everything from wisecracks to a dragon that eats unsuspecting villagers and then poops them out, and a radish trained in the art of kung fu. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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The Help (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:06:00 +0000

The Help (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011)
Emma Stone (Actor), Bryce Dallas Howard (Actor) | Rated: PG-13 | Format: Blu-ray

There are male viewers who will enjoy The Help, but Mississippi native Tate Taylor aims his adaptation squarely at the female readers who made Kathryn Stockett's novel a bestseller. If the multi-character narrative revolves around race relations in the Kennedy-era South, the perspective belongs to the women. Veteran maid Aibileen (Doubt's Viola Davis in an Oscar-worthy performance) provides the heartfelt narration that brackets the story. A widow devastated by the death of her son, she takes pride in the 17 children she has helped to raise, but she's hardly fulfilled. That changes when Skeeter (Easy A's Emma Stone) returns home after college. Unlike her peers, Skeeter wants to work, so she gets a job as a newspaper columnist. But she really longs to write about Jackson's domestics, so she meets with Aibileen in secret--after much cajoling and the promise of anonymity. When Aibileen's smart-mouthed friend Minny (breakout star Octavia Spencer) breaches her uptight employer's protocol, Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) gives her the boot, and she ends up in the employ of local outcast Celia (Jessica Chastain, hilarious and heartbreaking), who can't catch a break due to her dirt-poor origins. After the murder of Medgar Evers, even more maids, Minny among them, bring their stories to Skeeter, leading to a book that scandalizes the town--in a good way. Not since Steel Magnolias has Hollywood produced a Southern woman's picture more likely to produce buckets of tears (and almost as many laughs). --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:04:00 +0000

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)
Jim Carrey (Actor), Carla Gugino (Actor), Mark Waters (Director) | Rated: PG | Format: DVD

Based on the 1938 book of the same name by Richard and Florence Atwater, Mr. Popper's Penguins is a comedy about how the surprise appearance of a penguin at a New York businessman's door turns his life completely upside down, while simultaneously teaching him an important lesson about the value of family. Far from the small-town painter featured in the book, the film's Mr. Popper is a real estate developer who lives in an exclusive apartment on Park Avenue, has his sights set on becoming a partner in his firm, and is an every-other-weekend father to his two children. A ruthless developer with no time for anything but business, Mr. Popper resolves to deal with his father's parting gift of a penguin by getting rid of the annoying bird as quickly as possible. That process proves much more difficult than expected, even with the help of his ultra-efficient assistant Pippi, who speaks primarily in p's, and Mr. Popper soon winds up with six penguins. Even more unexpected is how markedly those penguins begin to affect the relationship between Mr. Popper and his children and how that change affects the rest of Mr. Popper's life. Jim Carrey's performance as Mr. Popper is very good--he capitalizes on the many comic opportunities afforded by the idea of keeping penguins in a New York apartment while showing an uncharacteristic restraint that's quite refreshing. Ophelia Lovibond is quite comical as Pippi and Angela Lansbury also makes a strong appearance as one of Mr. Popper's potential business clients. As Pippi would say, the premise of the power of the penguin to promote personal prosperity and perpetuate personal peace positively prevails in Mr. Popper's Penguins. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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American Horror Story Season 1, Ep. 9 "Spooky Little Girl"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:49:00 +0000

American Horror Story Season 1, Ep. 9 "Spooky Little Girl"
Runtime: 41 minutes
Original air date: November 30, 2011
Network: FX

Synopsis: One of history's most famous murder victims pays the house a visit. Constance discovers more of Tate's bad behavior.

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Top Chef Season 9, Ep. 5 "Don't Be Tardy for the Dinner Party"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:48:00 +0000

Top Chef Season 9, Ep. 5 "Don't Be Tardy for the Dinner Party"
Runtime: 44 minutes
Original air date: November 30, 2011
Network: Bravo

Synopsis: The Chefs have already hit the road on the way to the next city when Padma stops them at a roadblock -- surprise, it's the next Quickfire challenge where the chefs create a delicious dish using only ingredients found inside a standard survival kit. In the elimination challenge, the chefs will be cooking and serving in three different houses. They will be split into groups and assigned to serve the appetizer in one house, entree in the next, and then dessert in the final house. Guest judge John Besh joins Gail Simmons, head judge Tom Colicchio, and host Padma Lakshmi.

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Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (DVD/CD) (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:46:00 +0000

Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (DVD/CD) (2011)
Adele (Actor), Paul Dugdale (Director) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD

Live At The Royal Albert Hall was recorded on September 22 at the height of what has been an amazing year for Adele. Available on DVD and Blu-ray, "Live At The Royal Albert Hall" features the full 90 minute concert performance, plus special behind the scenes footage shot throughout the day leading up to the concert.
The package also includes an exclusive live CD of the entire show. This is the first time all of Adele's hits and best loved songs will be on one CD plus her stunning covers of Bonnie Raitt's "If I Can't Make You Love Me" and The Steeldrivers "If It Hadn't Been For Love"
This version contains mature language.

Track Listing:
1.Hometown Glory
2.I ll Be Waiting
3.Don t You Remember
4.Turning Tables
5.Set Fire To The Rain
6.If It Hadn t Been For Love
7.My Same
8.Take It All
9.Rumour Has It
10.Right As Rain
11.One & Only
12.Lovesong
13.Chasing Pavements
14.I Can t Make You Love Me
15.Make You Feel My Love
16.Someone Like You
17.Rolling In The Deep

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
Supporting actors: Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, John Carroll Lynch, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Jonah Bobo, Analeigh Tipton, Josh Groban
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra

Synopsis: Fortysomething Cal Weaver has the perfect life...until his wife Emily asks for a divorce. Now Cal has to navigate the single scene, but his heart keeps leading him back to where he began.

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X-Men: First Class (+Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:28:00 +0000

X-Men: First Class (+Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2011)
James McAvoy (Actor), Michael Fassbender (Actor), Matthew Vaughn (Director) | Rated: PG-13 | Format: Blu-ray

When Bryan Singer brought Marvel's X-Men to the big screen, Magneto and Professor X were elder statesmen, but Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) travels back in time to present an origin story--and an alternate version of history. While Charles Xavier (Laurence Belcher) grows up privileged in New York, Erik Lehnsherr (Bill Milner) grows up underprivileged in Poland. As children, the mind-reading Charles finds a friend in the shape-shifting Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and Erik finds an enemy in Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), an energy-absorbing Nazi scientist who treats the metal-bending lad like a lab rat. By 1962, Charles (James McAvoy) has become a swaggering genetics professor and Erik (Michael Fassbender, McAvoy's Band of Brothers costar) has become a brooding agent of revenge. CIA agent Moira (Rose Byrne) brings the two together to work for Division X. With the help of MIB (Oliver Platt) and Hank (A Single Man's Nicholas Hoult), they seek out other mutants, while fending off Shaw and Emma Frost (Mad Men's January Jones), who try to recruit them for more nefarious ends, leading to a showdown in Cuba between the United States and the Soviet Union, the good and bad mutants, and Charles and Erik, whose goals have begun to diverge. Throughout, Vaughn crisscrosses the globe, piles on the visual effects, and juices the action with a rousing score, but it's the actors who make the biggest impression as McAvoy and Fassbender prove themselves worthy successors to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. The movie comes alive whenever they take center stage, and dies a little when they don't. For the most part, though, Vaughn does right by playing up the James Bond parallels and acknowledging the debt to producer Bryan Singer through a couple of clever cameos. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Bridesmaids (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:27:00 +0000

Bridesmaids (2011)
Kristen Wiig (Actor), Maya Rudolph (Actor), Paul Feig (Director) | Rated: R | Format: DVD

The delightful Kristen Wiig, who's shone in dozens of supporting roles and on Saturday Night Live, hits a bull's-eye with her first lead role in Bridesmaids. Annie (Wiig) isn't doing so well; her bakery failed and she keeps sleeping with a good-looking louse (Jon Hamm, Mad Men), but she's always had her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, Away We Go) to buoy her up… until Lillian gets engaged. Annie becomes maid of honor, but another friend of Lillian's--the rich and lovely Helen (Rose Byrne, Get Him to the Greek)--wants to take over that position. Misadventures with bad Brazilian food, dress fittings, an unfortunate flight to Vegas, and a sympathetic traffic cop (Chris O'Dowd from British TV comedy The IT Crowd) follow, with increasingly hilarious results. Bridesmaids successfully balances raunchy comedy and character portrait. The embarrassing and socially catastrophic stuff, which in too many movies balloons into absurdity, is here kept in check just enough to allow Annie and the other characters to be multidimensional people--without the movie losing its comic capacity for cringe. (Actress Melissa McCarthy, of Mike & Molly, works miracles with a character than in most hands would be pure cartoon.) Wiig's enormous appeal keeps Annie sympathetic, even as she becomes more and more of a train wreck. Bridesmaids is both smart and dumb, raunchy and earnest, and altogether enjoyable. --Bret Fetzer

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Bridesmaids Unrated

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Bridesmaids Unrated

Synopsis: From the producer of Knocked Up, Bridesmaids Unrated takes Maid of Dishonor, Annie (Kristen Wiig), and four wild bridesmaids on an outrageous ride to their friend's wedding.
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph
Supporting actors: Rose Byrne, Chris O'Dowd, Ellie Kemper, Weindi McLendon-Covey, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Michael Hitchcock, Terry Crews, Kali Hawk, Tim Heidecker, Jon Hamm, Carnie Wilson, Chynna Phillips, Wendy Wilson
Directed by: Paul Feig
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: NBCU

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Bad Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:59:00 +0000

Bad Teacher

Synopsis: A foul-mouthed seventh grade teacher who is dumped by her sugar daddy starts to pursue a colleague, which provokes conflict with the school's model teacher.
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake
Supporting actors: Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, Jason Segel
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 3 hours 9 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Captain America: The First Avenger

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:57:00 +0000

Captain America: The First Avenger

Synopsis: Steve Rogers volunteeers for a top secret project.
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving
Supporting actors: Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Marvel

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Green Lantern (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:56:00 +0000

Green Lantern (2011)

Synopsis: Protectors of peace and justice, the Green Lantern Corp must rely on their newest and only human recruit, Hal Jordan, to save the Earth from a new enemy called Parallax.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively
Supporting actors: Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Horrible Bosses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Horrible Bosses

Synopsis: Three friends, harassed, insulted, and terrorized by their bosses, devise a convoluted but foolproof plan to rid the world of their respective employers...permanently.
Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day
Supporting actors: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx
Directed by: Seth Gordon
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Release year: 2011
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Wanted Dead or Alive: The Complete Series

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 May 2010 10:44:00 +0000

Wanted Dead or Alive: The Complete Series
Starring: Steve McQueen, Michael Landon Director: various

Join Hollywood-legend Steve McQueen in his career defining role as bounty hunter Josh Randall. Originally aired on CBS from 1958-1961. His legacy as the ultra-cool 60s pop culture icon continues, and his films sold millions of units on DVD. Starring Steve McQueen, Michael Landon, James Coburn, Deforest Kelly, Warren Oates, and many more!

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Clash of the Titans (Snap Case)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:28:00 +0000

Clash of the Titans (Snap Case) (1981)
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin Director: Desmond Davis

You have a classic tale full of drama, passion, and adventure. A tale of universal archetypes that speak to everyone. A tale that has remained unfailingly popular for thousands of years. Why not spice it up with a wacky mechanical owl? Such was the thinking behind Clash of the Titans. Maggie Smith, Laurence Olivier, and Harry Hamlin (one of these things is not like the others...) star in a toga-ripper about a valiant hero, capricious immortals, and lots and lots of giant stop-action monsters. Perseus (Hamlin) is the favored son of the god Zeus (Olivier), but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis (Smith). Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda, who used to be engaged to Thetis's son. Soon Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished. Of course, the whole thing is just an excuse to show as much of Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation as possible, and good thing too. It's an old technique, but it still looks pretty darn cool, and it means the cast can just relax and do a bunch of reaction shots. Don't use this one to study for that big classical mythology exam, but if you just turn your brain off and enjoy the Kraken, it's pretty good fun. --Ali Davis

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Mulan (Special Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:51:00 +0000

Mulan (Special Edition) (1998)
Ming-Na (Actor), Eddie Murphy (Actor), Barry Cook (Director), Tony Bancroft (Director)

Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride). She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair, and impersonates a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns eye-to-eye to protect her Emperor.

The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad. The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a full-fledged musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man," is sung during boot camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin. These are minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. --Doug Thomas

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Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:38:00 +0000

Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition) (2008)
Liam Neeson (Actor), Famke Janssen (Actor)

What could be a skillful but ordinary action flick gets a surprising emotional heft from the presence of Liam Neeson as the hero. Bryan Mills (Neeson) has given up his career as a spy to form a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter--but when, on a trip to Paris, she's kidnapped by slavers, Mills uses all his connections and skills to turn the city of lights upside down and rescue her. Like most of the movies that writer/producer Luc Besson has a hand in (such as La Femme Nikita, The Transporter, Unleashed, and many other French action movies), Taken drips with lurid violence (a bit toned-down to get a PG-13 rating, but there's still plenty of it), deranged sentimentality, and stereotypes of all kinds. But this doesn't stop his movies from being effective thrill-rides, and Taken is no exception. Taken pays just enough attention to the illusion of procedure--making it seem like Mills knows all the right steps to track down his daughter--that the movie cheerfully seduces your suspension of disbelief, despite many plot holes and scenes where Mills doesn't get scratched despite bullets flying in all directions or pretends to be a French policeman despite not speaking French or even adopting a French accent. What holds it all together is Neeson; his gravitas and emotional availability make his character--the usual action fantasy of impossible competence and righteous fury--somehow seem real and relatable. --Bret Fetzer

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Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 May 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition) (2009)
Tom Hanks (Actor), Ewan McGregor (Actor), Ron Howard (Director)

If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley

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Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:57:00 +0000

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition) (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon Director: Steven Spielberg

When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was abackyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.

A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.

The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

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Planet 51 (Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:09:00 +0000

Planet 51 (Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] (2009)
Dwayne Johnson (Actor), Jessica Biel (Actor), Jorge Blanco (Director), Javier Abad (Director)

What if there are creatures living on other planets in other galaxies? And what if those creatures are a lot like us? When American astronaut Chuck Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands on what's supposed to be barren, rocky planet devoid of life, he gets a big surprise. It seems that Planet 51 is home to little green people who are living in what's basically 1950s Americana--or should that be 1950s Alieana? Chuck bears a marked resemblance to Planet 51's science-fiction comic book and horror movie characters the "Humaniacs," and hysteria breaks out because the little green men think his appearance marks the beginning of an alien invasion. Lem (Justin Long) is a junior curator at the local planetarium and one of the only people on the planet who is awed, rather than frightened, by the concept of a larger universe. While his fellow citizens set out to capture the invading alien, Lem believes Chuck when he declares that his mission is peaceful, and Lem risks his own safety to help him return to his ship and his home planet. With a little help from Rover (an American robot probe that has been sending rock samples back to Earth while ignoring the planet's life forms), Lem's neighbor and secret crush Neera (Jessica Biel), his friend Skiff (Seann William Scott), and hippie protester Glar (Alan Marriott), Lem just might be able to save Chuck. The question is--what will the personal consequences be for Lem? The story is an amusing twist on America's long-standing fascination with the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and the film has plenty of comic moments, but it ultimately lacks suspense and fails to truly engage the viewer. The result is a film that provides some laughs but is ultimately not that entertaining. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Dark Alibi / Dangerous Money / The Trap / The Chinese Ring)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 May 2010 01:48:00 +0000

TCM Spotlight: Charlie Chan Collection (Dark Alibi / Dangerous Money / The Trap / The Chinese Ring)
Sidney Toler (Actor), Roland Winters (Actor), Phil Karlson (Director), Terry O. Morse (Director)

# Actors: Sidney Toler, Roland Winters, Benson Fong, Victor Sen Yung, Gloria Warren
# Directors: Phil Karlson, Terry O. Morse, Howard Bretherton, William Beaudine
# Format: Box set, Black & White, NTSC
# Language: English
# Number of discs: 4
# Studio: Warner Home Video
# DVD Release Date: June 8, 2010
# Run Time: 199 minutes

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Edge of Darkness

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Edge of Darkness (2009)
Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone Director: Martin Campbell

The good news is that Edge of Darkness (no relation to the fine 1943 war picture of that name) brings back Mel Gibson in front of the camera for the first time in nearly a decade. Although he's grown creased and leathery and his thatch has thinned, the movie star who was Mad Max still has the charisma and gravitas to center a dodgy suspense tale and propel it to the finish line. Gibson plays veteran Boston police detective Tom Craven, who welcomes home daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) for a rare visit, then sees her shot down at his front door. Because the gunman shouted "Craven!" and because a cop makes enemies, Tom assumes Emma took a bullet meant for him, which adds considerably to his grief and pain. But as he looks into the life of a daughter he loved yet scarcely knew, he discovers she'd been preparing to turn whistleblower on her employer, a corporation doing unsavory clandestine things for the government. Craven starts having oblique chats with a philosophical Brit named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who keeps turning up unexpectedly--in Craven's backyard at night, say--always giving the distinct impression that he could just as well kill a fellow instead of schmoozing. Their strange rapport, like Craven's tendency to mutter ironical asides as if in ongoing conversation with the departed Emma, is more intriguing than the conspiracy involving corporate skullduggery and a rogue assassination bureau. The bar for that sort of thing was set in post-Watergate days by Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View, and we're nowhere near its cinematic elegance or pervasive paranoia. Edge of Darkness, based on a British miniseries from 1985, was directed by Martin Campbell, who also handled the six-hour original (and more recently the successful James Bond reboot Casino Royale). Campbell does decent-enough work--the occasional bursts of "shocking action" do shock even as we know they're coming--but rarely exceeds generic requirements. For killing comparison among contemporary suspense films, catch Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, in which every frame unsettlingly conveys a world where disquiet is the natural order of things. --Richard T. Jameson

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In Plain Sight: Season One

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:33:00 +0000

In Plain Sight: Season One (2008)
Starring: Mary McCormack, Fred Weller

An amusing blend of cop show action and dysfunctional family fireworks, the comedy-drama In Plain Sight benefits greatly from the charisma of its lead, Mary McCormack, as well as some promising episodes in this first-season set. TV and film vet McCormack (The West Wing, Murder One) finally gets a lead as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal working in the Albuquerque office of the Witness Protection Program. The array of offbeat characters that fall under Mary’s jurisdiction--everyone from innocent witnesses of terrible crimes to less scrupulous types like Dave Foley’s obnoxious mob squealer (“Trojan Horst”) to a diamond smuggler (Missi Pyle) with wedding fever (“Never the Bride”)--present less problems for her than her family, which includes her overly dramatic mom (Lesley Ann Warren) and troublemaking sister (Nichole Hiltz), who has designs on Mary's on-again-off-again boyfriend (Cristian de la Fuente). Frederick Weller (as her quirky partner) and Paul Ben-Victor as her boss offer solid support, but In Plain Sight is McCormack’s showcase, and she shines in both the comic moments and more serious elements, most notably a confessional monologue in “High Priced Spread.” One wishes the scripts lived up to the performances--too often, the program coasts on glib dialogue, or worse, heavy-handed voice-overs--but these are fixable problems in the face of considerable potential. All 12 episodes of the first season are included in the three-disc set, as well as brief deleted scenes from each episode. --Paul Gaita

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The Protector [Blu-ray]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:38:00 +0000

The Protector [Blu-ray] (2006)
Starring: Tony Jaa Director: Prachya Pinkaew

Thai-born martial artist Tony Jaa, whose gravity-defying stunts wowed American audiences in Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, returns in an equally eye-popping stunt fest that should thrill all but the most jaded action fans. The very simple plot has the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Jaa as a young man from a rural community dispatched to Australia to recover a pair of sacred elephants. Once there, he discovered that a female crime boss (played by transgendered actor Jing Xing) is behind the missing pachyderms, and Jaa pulls out all the stops to recover the animals for his village. As in Ong-Bak, the appeal of The Protector is watching Jaa unleash his muay thai skills on a host of villainous types, and he gets several astonishing showcases in this film, most notably a nearly-unbroken take in which he dispatches some 50 goons as he makes his way up a four-story structure. Those looking for the depth of story or character found in the best of Hong Kong action cinema won't find it in The Protector, but the rewards for action fans are plentiful and thoroughly entertaining. The two-disc Collector's Edition of The Protector includes a wealth of extras, most notably the original Thai version of the film (titled Tom Yum Goong), which runs approximately 30 minutes longer than the American version. Commentary by martial arts writer and fan Bey Logan is featured on the American edit, along with a deleted scene, a featurette about Jaa with Logan and rapper/producer The RZA (who scored the American version and, for some reason, is described as a major force in bringing Asian entertainment to the States), making-of featurettes on both the English and Thai versions of the film (the latter features a subtitled Thai-language commentary track with Jaa, director Prachya Pinkaew, and stunt coordinator/mentor Panna Rittikrai), and three fair short films that were produced for a promotional tie-in contest. -- Paul Gaita

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